Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Arlington Heights earns an A, 88th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. Residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, the median household earns $117K, and its public schools beat 86% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $493K, 5.4 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 60% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Arlington Heights, above both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Arlington Heights is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Arlington Heights has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Muller House and Wheeler-Magnus Round Barn.
Where Arlington Heights beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,424 in 1890, 77,676 in 2020. The archive holds 34 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Arlington Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Arlington Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
8 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw30 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Arlington Heights, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Arlington Heights.
Arlington Heights trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors, has less utility shut-off threats than most of Illinois and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
The median property tax bill is $8,759, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Arlington Heights’ median rent is $1,760 a month. Typical home values rose 8.9% in the year to September 2026. 40% of Arlington Heights renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Arlington Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,760 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 40% | 46% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Illinois is utility shut-off threats: 4.4% of its 61,143 adults were threatened with a utility shut-off, against 7.8% statewide.
25% of adults have obesity in Arlington Heights. Arlington Heights beats the Illinois average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9% of adults have diabetes in Arlington Heights.
| Arlington Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Arlington Heights | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.4% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
10 miles of trail in 51 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Lake Arlington Park, at 92 acres. The trail density in Arlington Heights is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Arlington Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.8% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frontier Park | 0.9 mi | 31 |
| 2. Hasbrook Park | 0.9 mi | 14 |
| 3. Centennial Park | 0.6 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 755 to 589 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 28 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Arlington Heights has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Arlington Heights has about as many jobs (38,159) as working residents, but only 3,862 people both live and work here. 25.1% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Arlington Heights for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (18%), Schaumburg (4%) and Elk Grove Village (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.
| Arlington Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 43 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Arlington Heights.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
12 within 15 miles of the center of Arlington Heights
About 5 of every 100 Arlington Heights residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
3 places in Arlington Heights on the National Register of Historic Places.
41 notable people were born in Arlington Heights.
Village in Illinois, United States
Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. A northwestern suburb of Chicago, it lies about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of the city's downtown. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 77,676, making it the 15th-most populous municipality in Illinois. Arlington Heights is known for the former Arlington Park Race Track, home of the Arlington Million, a Breeders' Cup qualifying event; it also hosted the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in 2002.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Arlington Heights.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington Heights | #88 | A | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Prospect Heights | #258 | A− | C− | B+ | B+ | A |
| Mount Prospect | #231 | A− | D | B+ | B+ | A |
| Rolling Meadows | #279 | A− | D | B− | A− | A |
| Buffalo Grove | #31 | A+ | C− | A− | A | A+ |
| Palatine | #194 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Wheeling | #319 | B+ | C− | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Wheeling Township | #199 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
Wheeling Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Arlington Heights with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Arlington Heights grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #88 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
41 notable people were born here, including Charlie Kirk and Jonathan Spector.
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